Standing up for CNN's Aaron Brown

It's an awful shame that Aaron Brown needs defending at all, but the fact of the matter is that the poor guy has got more than his share of vocal critics.

I once heard Walter Isaacson, then the president of CNN, tell a small audience that Brown was the most polarizing on-air figure at the then-strugglinng network. At the time, viewers tended to either adore him or despise him. Lately, however, sentiment seems to have inexplicably shifted against the nighttime anchor.

Too bad.

It's not necessary that all these critics be silenced. In America we get to toss darts at our vastly overpaid TV-news personalities, even to name-call if that's what helps regulate our bp. But it would be nice if every once in a while someone would stand up and publicly pronounce support for Brown, who seems the very embodiment of professionalism and decency.

Therefore ... I hereby rise in defense of Aaron, anchor of NewsNight, defender of traditional news values, beleaguered face of CNN.

There, I've said it.

And I know beyond a doubt that I will take my lumps for assuming this openly pro-Brown posture. Among my circle of friends and associates, I hear the derisive comments all the time: "Aaron Brown? Yeah, there's the guy you want anchoring your nighttime news when you're in a war with the thugs at Fox and MSNBC."

Know what? I'd take my chances with Aaron.

Over time, he's my man.

Brown bashers accuse the onetime ABC News journo of, among other things, having gone flabby; they say that CNN's leadership team, under pressure from category leader Fox News, has steered the network's flagship newscast away from straight reporting and increasingly into the realm of tabloidism, where Roger Ailes has rarely feared to tread. Maybe so, maybe so.

But NewsNight, for the most part, still sparkles with intelligence when compared to many of its competitors on cable. I credit its anchor for keeping the program both serious and thoughtful. And, at times, quirky. Gotta like the quirky.

Now, to be fair to the flame-throwers (but why?), Brown does not project as the most dynamic presence on television news. Far from it. He hasn't the polish of NBC's Brian Williams nor the electric persona of, say ... well, no one currently in TV news commands that kind of high-wattage star quality.

Which is fine, and which is my point. Do you really want someone like Nancy Grace anchoring your news show? (A judge I know recently said to me, "Every time I see Nancy Grace on TV I just want to slap her!") Clearly, she is ascendant at CNN; her on-air personality is attention-grabbing, like a barking hound is attention-grabbing, and she draws viewers. Maybe one day she'll wind up as Larry King's replacement. That's been rumored for many months. I'm not sure it's such a great idea, but we'll see.

What matters, to me and the seemingly small cadre of others who defend our man Aaron, is that he goes down easy. Night after night, he's a steady companion. By the tone of his voice and the nuance of his prose (yes, he's nuanced; does that make him a bad person?), you just know he appreciates the appropriate balance between news that matters and showbiz rat-a-tat, which doesn't matter much, but which reminds us that we're citizens of a country that, for good or bad, seriously cares about Renee Zellweger's wedding-by-the-sea to a country recording artist.

A couple of days ago Aaron Brown declined to accept an award from a group called Compassion & Choices, which "maintains the mission of improving care and choices at the end of life." C&C hoped to honor the newsman for his coverage of the Terry Schaivo case. He was passing, Brown said respectfully, on account of journalistic ethics. You simply cannot be perceived as throwing in with an advocacy organization, no matter how admirable its mission. It was absolutely the right decision. And it was what I expected.

Attaboy, Aaron!

So, what did Brown do for me today? He affirmed an appreciation of fundamental jounalistic values. There's lots to be said for that.

We know these things to be true about Aaron Brown: He's not the prettiest face in TV news. He's not the most compelling storyteller. His voice doesn't boom in a way that says "Anchorman." What he is is ... solid, grounded, coy, literate, generally cheerful, and nicely attuned to the boisterousness of the American conversation.

There are others in cable, both men and women, who possess many of these same virtues (more on them some other day) -- only they don't get slammed the way Aaron Brown has lately gotten slammed.

As you may have read, our guy survived some radical show-shuffling at CNN this week. Let's hope that signals some sort of endorsement by the guys at the top.

CNN is forever reminding us that, more than its bellicose rivals, it has earned the "trust" of its viewers. For now, at least, Aaron Brown remains one of his network's best bets for retaining that trust during the hyper-competitive days ahead.